Last Updated on by Mitch Rezman
I wear many hats on a daily basis.
I’m a web developer and a blogger who follows many of the latest developments in the digital world.
Recently ChatGPT: Optimizing Language Models for Dialogue was released as OpenAI
That means no one “owns” the code. It is freely distributed and anyone is welcome to use and or improve the coding.
It only knows about current events through 2021.
It’s my understanding the more detailed the question, the more detailed the answer.
For my first experiment, I entered the following question on ChatGPT’s website.
“Explain the best practices for budgie breeding. There are 2 males and 6 females. 3 seed feeders offer abundant food. 2 large dishes and a fresh veggie chop mixture are served daily.
6 eggs were laid producing 3 babies.
Adults must feed the babies around the clock.
Hormones are raging and 2 have experienced injuries.”
About 60 seconds later this answer spewed onto my screen:
Begin chat.openai.com response
Budgie breeding can be a rewarding experience, but it’s important to follow proper practices to ensure the health and well-being of the birds. Here are some best practices for budgie breeding:
Start with healthy birds: It’s important to choose healthy birds with good genetics to increase the chances of producing healthy offspring.
Provide a suitable breeding environment: Budgies need a spacious, clean, and quiet environment to breed successfully. The cage or aviary should be well-ventilated and provide plenty of room for the birds to move around and exercise.
Ensure proper nutrition: A balanced diet is essential for the health of breeding budgies. Offer a variety of seeds, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.
Monitor breeding behavior: Pay attention to the birds’ behavior to identify when they are ready to breed. Male budgies may start singing and displaying courtship behavior, while females may start laying eggs.
Protect the eggs and chicks: Once eggs are laid, it’s important to monitor the nest and protect the eggs and chicks from predators or other threats.
Provide constant care: Budgie chicks require constant care and feeding from their parents, and it’s important to monitor their health and development to ensure they are growing and thriving.
Avoid overbreeding: It’s important to avoid overbreeding, as this can lead to problems such as inbreeding and weakened genetics. It’s a good idea to allow the birds to have breaks between breeding cycles to allow them to rest and recover.
In the situation you described, it sounds like the adults are already providing constant care for the chicks, which is important. It’s also important to monitor the birds for any injuries or health issues and address them promptly to ensure the birds are able to recover and thrive.
End chat.openai.com response
Not bad, huh?
“You can’t always get what you want” ~ Mick Jagger ~ so allow me to embellish some answers.
1) Start with healthy birds:
Full transparency, all our birds are rescued and to the dismay of some budgerigar disciples, we don’t quarantine upon arrival.
We take the birds in and give them the best life a lonely parakeet can ever have.
At one point we housed 12, through attrition over approximately 7 years we now have 7 adults (3 males and 4 females) along with the 3 freshly hatched babies (sex TBD).
We didn’t want eggs or babies but we took the hand we were dealt.
All further eggs are disposed of and on 12/16/2022 the nest box was removed from the cage with budgie #3 fledging and the hopes of hormones settling down.
2) Provide a suitable breeding environment:
The basic breeding environment was a Prevue nestbox lined with pine shavings.
We originally placed Kraft paper bedding that they would have nothing to do with.
It’s hard with the babies to keep a nest box clean but we managed with all 3.
When a youngun” was removed for face time we’d remove the soiled pine shavings with fresh ones.
All our inhabited 8 bird cages (including the hospital cage) get a quick freshen-up daily, and a more thorough cleaning once weekly.
3) Ensure proper nutrition
What is The Perfect Recipe for Your Parakeet Blend Seed Mix?
All 3 baby budgies immediately took to the fresh veggie mixture because as Catherine observed “they were fed high-value nutritious greens and vegetables all through their infant care so it was sought by them once left to their own devices when it came time to feed themselves.
We also have been sprinkling Higgins Versele Laga Egg food on top of the veggie mix.
Two bowls of fresh veggies are offered throughout the day so there is plenty of “elbow room” at the “dining tables.
4) Monitor breeding behavior:
Good luck with that.
Ever since the budgie aviary was moved from a bright room with 4 large double-hung windows, to the upstairs where 90% of the lighting is artificial including the 900 watts over 3 birdcages I wake up to in the morning ~ it’s been one long episode of “Budgies Gone Wild”.
Waffles is one of the 3 males when he’s not seeking the attention of a hen he’s feeding babies or one of the moms who will use his regurgitation to help feed the juveniles.
5) Protect the eggs and chicks:
This is why we used a nestbox. we also left unfertile eggs in the box to act as cushioning for the parents helping to not crush the babies.
6) Provide constant care
During the day the budgies and Barney the cockatiel remains with me in my home office upstairs.
In my presence, I have been opening two budgies’ aviary doors and allowing them to explore…
They tend to land on all 3 of the other cages and their own, with the juveniles still acting perplexed about ”how do we do what the other birds are doing”?
7) Avoid overbreeding:
You betcha, now that 3 babies are officially named #1, #2, and #3 (Dr. Seuss got away with it) the nestbox is gone and we’ll allow no more eggs to be sat upon.
In its summation (the Bot) it states, “It’s also important to monitor the birds for any injuries”. which I found compelling and inciteful as we currently have Bagel (f) in the hospital cage where it looks like she barely avoided losing an eye.
Chicken and Lucky have sustained foot injuries.
We use a spray-on antibiotic for wound care and monitor all the birds all the time.
I have to get back to my chatbot and see if she can help me figure out the meaning of life
Written by Mitch Rezman
Written by Chat AI Bot
Approved by Catherine Tobsing
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